Preserving Your Baby Shoes
Why do we need to preserve baby shoes? Most parents forget to preserve those little shoes, only to re-discover them many years later, disintegrating. A few simple recommendations are in order to make sure those shoes that your little tykes wore will remain intact for years to come.
Storage
As a general rule of thumb, don’t put baby shoes in your regular shoe rack along with other adult shoes. Shoe racks are dirty, dusty places and baby shoes quickly yield to the dirt.
Since baby shoes are mostly made up of light textile fibers, the amount of dirt it can handle before discoloration is lesser than the average shoe.
Since baby feet grow at a quicker pace than adult feet, baby shoes will only be worn for a maximum period of about a month. After that, it’s time to purchase a new pair to keep up with feet growth.
Put unused baby shoes in clear plastic bags and seal these bags tightly with tape. Store the baby shoes in a cabinet, along with your clothes. This will ensure the preservation of the material, and since the cabinet is close, exposure to dirt and moisture is greatly reduced.
Cleaning
Some people soak their shoes for hours with a detergent solution. Then with a quick rinse, the shoes are left to dry on some wooden fence or on a strong clothesline. Don’t do this to your poor baby shoes.
Remember, baby shoes were not put together by the manufacturers with any kind of strong adhesive. At most, the adhesive used were simple, enforced glues that were meant to support only a few kilograms.
Given the situation, these adhesives will not withstand prolonged exposure to water and detergents. There just might be a chance that when you lift those baby shoes from a tub of soapy water, the shoes are already damaged.
If you want to clean your baby shoes, use warm (not boiling) water, mild soaps (hand soaps or similar soaps) and a fibrous brush. To begin cleaning, simply soak the baby shoes in warm water for a few minutes and gently lift to begin soaping.
Apply the soap only to the surface and never to inner part of the shoes. With the brush, methodically remove any stains and built-up dirt on the surface of the shoes.
Flip the baby shoes over and work on the underside as well. Soak the shoes again and give it a mild squeeze to remove water from the inner parts. Let the shoes dry in open air. Now you can store them when completely dry.